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United States Patent |
5,333,833
|
Reinicke
|
August 2, 1994
|
Rotary ball valve with lifting ball
Abstract
A ball-valve member, which in its valve-closed condition must have
circumferentially continuous sealed contact with its seat, is mounted for
rotation about an axis which is eccentrically gyrated in the course of
limited rotation of an actuating element that is journalled in the valve
body. The eccentric throw is selected to be such in relation to the full
course of actuating-element rotation that, beginning with a fully-closed
condition of the valve, an initial fraction of the course of
actuating-element rotation is devoted to achieving the eccentric throw
(without rotating the ball), whereby to displace the ball-rotation axis in
the axial direction away from seat engagement; the ball surface is thus
displaced into axially offset clearance with respect to the seat, before
devoting the remaining fraction of actuating-element rotation to the task
of rotating the ball to its valve-open position. In the presently
preferred form to be described, a rotary lost-motion connection between
eccentric displacement and ball rotation makes it possible for a single
direction of controlled driving torque to the actuating element to perform
the indicated sequence for a valve-opening direction, and the reverse
sequence for a closing direction of valve actuation; in the closing
direction, all rotation of the valve-member ball is in axially offset
relation to the seat, while eccentric displacement to achieve a seated
closure occurs only after the ball has been rotated into axially offset
register with its seat.
Inventors:
|
Reinicke; Robert H. (Mission Viejo, CA)
|
Assignee:
|
Marotta Scientific Controls, Inc. (Montville, NJ)
|
Appl. No.:
|
089116 |
Filed:
|
July 8, 1993 |
Current U.S. Class: |
251/77; 251/56; 251/129.04; 251/129.11; 251/129.13; 251/160 |
Intern'l Class: |
F16K 003/22; F16K 031/04 |
Field of Search: |
251/56,77,129.04,129.11,129.12,129.13,160
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
4013264 | Mar., 1977 | Friedell | 251/129.
|
4288060 | Sep., 1981 | Mittell | 251/56.
|
4296913 | Oct., 1981 | Hoyer | 251/77.
|
5083744 | Jan., 1992 | Reinicke et al. | 251/129.
|
Primary Examiner: Michalsky; Gerald A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hopgood, Calimafde, Kalil & Judlowe
Parent Case Text
RELATED CASE
This application is a continuation-in-part of copending original
application, Ser. No. 07/868,023, filed Apr. 13, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No.
5,228,645.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A rotary valve, comprising a valve body with inlet and outlet ports and
a rotatable valve member for determining fluid flow from the inlet port to
the outlet port, one of said ports having an annular seat about and normal
to a central axis of fluid flow, said valve member having a truncated
convex spherical outer surface of greater radius than the radius of said
annular seat, a drive shaft journalled in said body for rotation about a
first rotary axis through and transverse to said central axis, selectively
operable means for driving said shaft within angular limits spaced
approximately .pi. radians apart, eccentric means on said shaft on one
side of said central axis to the exclusion of the other side of said
central axis, said eccentric means mounting said valve member on a second
rotary axis for eccentric gyration in a conical orbit that is
incrementally inclined in angular offset from said first rotary axis, the
mounting of said valve member on said second rotary axis being on a
diameter of the geometric sphere of the outer surface of said valve
member, whereby a full drive of said shaft between said limits will
impart. approximately .pi. radians of eccentrically gyrated displacement
to said second rotary axis, and angular lost-motion means connecting said
shaft in a first phase to impart rotation to said valve member for
substantially only .pi./2 radians from one of said limits and in a second
phase of substantially only the remaining .pi./2 radians to impart rio
rotation to said valve member.
2. The rotary valve of claim 1, wherein said outlet port is the port having
the annular seat, whereby fluid pressure at the inlet port is operative in
the closed position of the valve to load the valve member in the direction
of seat engagement.
3. The rotary valve of claim 1, wherein said valve member is an angularly
truncated spherical shell.
4. The rotary valve of claim 3, wherein said shell is a first component
part of said valve member, and wherein a second component part is a
tubular element having a cylindrical bore of diameter substantially
matching the inner diameter of said seat, said tubular element being
mounted to said shaft for rotary displacement therewith, said tubular
element being aligned with the central axis of fluid flow at both said
limits of shaft rotation.
5. The rotary valve of claim 1, wherein said shell is a first component
part of said valve member, and wherein a second component part is a
tubular element having a cylindrical bore of diameter substantially
matching the inner diameter of said seat, said tubular member being
aligned with the central axis of fluid flow at the valve-open limit of
shaft rotation, and wherein stop means coacting between a part of said
valve body and a part of said valve member is oriented to arrest
valve-member rotation at a position of axial register with but offset from
said seat, said position determining an intermediate rotary shaft position
at which the lost-motion connection transfers from one to the other of its
phases of imparting and not imparting rotation of said valve member.
6. The rotary valve of claim 5, in which said tubular element and said
shell have coacting abutments operative to engage at said intermediate
rotary shaft position for one direction of transfer from one to the other
of said phases and to disengage at said intermediate rotary shaft position
for the direction of transfer from said other to said one of said phases.
7. The rotary valve of claim 6, in which torsionally compliant spring means
reacting between said body and said valve member loads said valve member
in the direction of axial register with said seat.
8. The rotary valve of claim 1, in which torsionally compliant spring means
loads said drive shaft in the valveseating direction of eccentric throw.
9. The rotary valve of claim 1, in which the respective directions of the
eccentric offset at said angular limits are on a single diametrical
alignment through the shaft axis, said diametrical alignment being in a
geometric plane that includes the central axis of fluid flow and is normal
to the shaft-rotation axis, said diametrical alignment being at an acute
angle of substantially .pi./4 radians of inclination from said central
axis, whereby in one of said phases of shaft rotation eccentric
displacement of said valve member is essentially in the direction of said
central axis of fluid flow, and whereby in the other of said phases of
shaft rotation eccentric displacement of said valve member is essentially
transverse to the direction of said central axis of fluid flow.
10. The rotary valve of claim 1, in which actuating means for said valve
comprises a limited-displacement electric motor mounted to said body and
connected to drive said lost-motion connection.
11. The rotary valve of claim 10, in which said motor is a brushless D.C.
motor.
12. The rotary valve of claim 11, in which said motor comprises an armature
keyed to said drive shaft and supported by antifriction bearings having no
seals, said armature being clad with non-magnetic protective material for
corrosion-free exposure to fluid effluent within said body.
13. The rotary valve of claim 11, wherein said motor has twelve poles and
includes a stator with three phase windings.
14. The rotary valve of claim 10, wherein said shaft comprises upper and
lower portions one of which is directly driven by said motor and the other
of which mounts shaft-position sensing means producing an electrical
output signal which is a function of instantaneously sensed angular
position of said shaft about its axis of rotation.
15. The rotary valve of claim 14, in which control means for said motor
includes a feedback connection to the said signal output of said
shaft-position sensing means.
16. The rotary valve of claim 14, in which said shaft-position sensing
means is a variable reluctance device having a magnetic circuit comprising
coacting core elements on said shaft and on said valve body, coacting core
elements on said shaft and valve body being spaced to define a gap which
varies as a function of shaft-angle position.
17. A rotary valve, comprising a valve body with inlet and outlet ports and
a rotatable ball-valve member for determining fluid flow from the inlet
port to the outlet port, one of said ports having an annular seat about
and normal to a central axis of fluid flow, said valve member having a
truncated convex spherical outer surface of greater radius than the radius
of said annular seat, whereby to permit fluid flow when the truncation
traverses said seat and to arrest fluid flow when said spherical surface
fully covers said seat, a drive shaft journalled in said body for rotation
about a first rotary axis through and transverse to said central axis,
selectively operable means for driving said shaft within angular limits
spaced approximately .pi. radians apart, eccentric means on said shaft on
one side of said central axis to the exclusion of the other side of said
central axis, said eccentric means mounting said valve on a second rotary
axis for eccentric gyration in a conical orbit that is incrementally
inclined in angular offset from said first rotary axis, the mounting of
said valve member on said second rotary axis being on a diameter of the
geometric sphere of the outer surface of said valve member, whereby a full
drive of said shaft between said limits will impart approximately .pi.
radians of eccentrically gyrated displacement to said second rotary axis,
and angular lost-motion means connecting said shaft in a first phase to
impart rotation to said valve member for substantially only .pi./2 radians
from one of said limits and in a second phase of substantially only the
remaining .pi./2 radians to impart no rotation to said valve member.
18. The rotary valve of claim 17, in which said ball-valve member is a
spherical solid having a diametrically extending cylindrical bore of
diameter substantially matching the inner diameter of said seat, said bore
at intercept with said spherical surface providing essentially the only
truncation of said spherical outer surface.
19. The rotary valve of claim 17, wherein said valve member is an angularly
truncated spherical shell.
20. The rotary valve of claim 17, wherein said eccentric means includes a
self-aligning bearing connection in the mounting of said valve member on
said second rotary axis.
21. The rotary valve of claim 20, in which said valve member on the other
side of said central axis is mounted to said first rotary axis via a
self-aligning bearing connection.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to so-called ball valves wherein a valve member which
rotates to control fluid flow through the valve is characterized by a
spherical surface which has sealed engagement to an annular seat for the
closed condition of the valve.
The conventional valve member of a ball valve is a full sphere, except for
a radial stem and a diametrically extending bore that is transverse to the
stem direction. The valve-member or ball is actuable by limited rotation,
e.g., 90 degrees, about a valve-body axis of stem support, wherein said
axis extends through the center of the sphere, intersecting and normal to
the axis of the diametrically extending bore.
In the open condition of the valve, the diametrically
extending bore aligns with cylindrical inlet and outlet ports or passages
in the valve body, and an annular seal such as an elastomeric O-ring
retained by one or both of these ports or passages is in peripherally
continuous seated and sealing contact with the ball, encircling the
adjacent end of the diametrically extending bore of the valve member. As
the valve-member is actuated in the valve-closing direction, the
valve-member bore and the inlet/outlet passage become progressively
misaligned while the ball rotates with continuing seat engagement, thus
reducing the sectional area available for inlet-to-outlet flow. When fully
rotated to the valve-closed condition, a smooth spherical surface of the
ball is circumferentially sealed to its seat, in total blockage of
inlet-to-outlet flow.
The actuating operation of a conventional ball valve is thus characterized
by the frictional resistance of the ball-to-seat engagement. For many
applications, this friction can be reduced by appropriate choice of seat
material and by careful attention to ball sphericity and to the accuracy
of ball-stem mounting and rotation. But for other applications, as for
controlled flow of cryogenic materials such as liquified oxygen, liquified
hydrogen, liquified nitrogen, or other gases whether or not in liquid
state, seating materials and engagements become sources of friction, wear,
and leakage, to the extent that mechanical hysteresis is an on-going
operational factor, and repair and maintenance expenses are relatively
great.
BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved ball-valve
construction of the character indicated.
It is a specific object to meet the above object with a ball-valve
construction in which actuating friction and accompanying hysteresis are
reduced to relative insignificance.
Another specific object is to meet the above objects with a construction
which is inherently suited to avoiding or very substantially reducing the
repair and maintenance expense of handling controlled flows of cryogenic
liquids and/or gases.
The invention achieves these objects in a ball-valve construction wherein
the ball surface, which in valve-closed condition must have
circumferentially continuous sealed contact with its seat, is mounted for
rotation about an axis which is eccentrically displaced in the course of
limited rotation of an actuating element that is journalled in the valve
body. The eccentric throw is selected to be such in relation to the full
course of actuating-element rotation that, beginning with a full-closed
condition of the valve, an initial fraction of the course of
actuating-element rotation is devoted to achieving the eccentric throw
(without rotating the ball), whereby to displace the ball-rotation axis in
the axial direction away from seat engagement; the ball surface is thus
displaced into axially offset clearance with respect to the seat, before
devoting the remaining fraction of actuating-element rotation to the task
of rotating the ball to its valve-open position. In the presently
preferred form to be described, a rotary lostmotion connection between
eccentric displacement and ball rotation makes it possible for a single
direction of controlled driving torque to the actuating element to perform
the indicated sequence for a valve-opening direction, and the reverse
sequence for a closing direction of valve actuation; in the closing
direction, all rotation of the valve-member ball is in axially offset
relation to the seat, while eccentric displacement to achieve a seated
closure occurs only after the ball has been rotated into axially offset
register with its seat.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A preferred embodiment of the invention will be described in detail, in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a vertical section through a rotary valve of the invention, in
closed condition, and taken in the plane defined by the axis of
inlet-outlet flow and by the rotary axis of valve actuation;
FIG. 2A is a fragmentary sectional view taken at 2A--2A in FIG. 1, to
illustrate the closed and seated condition of the valve;
FIG. 2B is a fragmentary sectional view taken at 2B--2B of FIG. 2A, in
further illustration of the closed condition of the valve, with the plane
of FIG. 2A being indicated in FIG. 2B;
FIG. 3A is a view similar to and taken in the same plane as FIG. 2A, to
illustrate an intermediate position wherein the valve member has been
axially "lifted" away from its seated condition;
FIG. 3B is a view similar to FIG. 2A, but taken in the plane 3B--3B of FIG.
3A, in further illustration of said intermediate position;
FIG. 4A is a view similar to and taken in the same plane as FIGS. 2A and
3A, to illustrate the full-open condition of the valve;
FIG. 4B is a view similar to FIGS. 2B and 3B, but taken in the plane 4B--4B
of FIG. 4A, in further illustration of the full-open condition of the
valve;
FIG. 5 is an electrical block diagram of drive circuitry for the valve of
FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a more-detailed electrical diagram, for part of the control
circuitry of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a table to show winding excitation patterns for operation of
control circuitry of FIGS. 5 and 6;
FIG. 8 is a flow diagram for microprocessor control of the circuitry of
FIG. 5;
FIG. 9 is a fragmentary vertical section, otherwise generally similar to
FIG. 1 but showing a modification;
FIG. 10 is a vertical section along the lines of FIG. 1 to show a different
modification; and
FIG. 11 is a schematic and somewhat isometric diagram to illustrate a
principle of operation in the modification of FIG. 10.
In FIG. 1, the invention is shown in application to a valve having a
rotatable spherical valve member A in seated coaction with an annular seat
B, all within a two-piece body; even though valve member A is shown as a
truncated fraction of a spherical shell, it will sometimes be referred to
as a ball. The principal part 10 of the valve body defines a convergent
frusto-conical inlet port or passage 11 having a central axis 12 of
fluid-flow alignment with an outlet port or passage 13. Outlet passage 13
has the bore diameter of the downstream or reduced end of the inlet port
11, and passage 13 is seen to be provided by the second or closure part 14
of the two-piece valve body; body part 14 mounts the annular seat B and
has bolted connection 15 to body part 10 by way of a circumferential
flange 16. Between the port passages 11, 13, and on an axis 17 of
motor-driven rotary actuating displacement, the body part 10 is seen to
include upper and lower counterbore formations 18, 19. The upper
counterbore 18 terminates at a radial flange 20 which is the means of
mounting the flanged base 21 of an upwardly open cylindrical skirt 22 for
sealed containment of fluid which is permitted to flood the rotor assembly
24 of an electric-motor actuator for the valve.
The rotor assembly 24 is keyed at 25 to a drive shaft 26, centered on axis
17 by a lower ball bearing 23 that is fitted to the flanged motor-mounting
base 21. An annular motor-housing member 27 has a base flange 28 in
register with outer-flange regions of valve-body and motor-mounting parts
20, 21, and these registering regions are securely retained by bolts as at
29. The motor housing is completed by an end-closure member 30 having
bolted assembly to the motor-housing member 27 and is shown fitted to a
roller-bearing unit 31 for centrally stabilized retention of the upper end
of drive shaft 26, on axis 17.
For a purpose that will be made clear, and lower end of shaft 26 is shown
with a spliced cylindrical formation 32 centered on an axis 17' that is
eccentrically offset (to the extent .delta.) from the drive-mounting axis
17 of shaft 26. The upper hub 33 of a flow-tube member 34 has
spline-driven connection to the shaft formation 32, and this same hub 33
also mounts a roller-bearing unit 35 for anti-friction support of an
annular member 36, centered on the eccentrically offset axis 17'; the
valve member A has bolted connection 37 to the annular member 36.
Consistent with the described rotary mounting and eccentric offsetting
established for the upper support of valve member A, the flow-tube member
34 is seen to have an integrally formed lower stem with adjacent mounting
surfaces 38, 39 which are respectively offset to the same eccentric extent
.delta.. Specifically, the lower mounting surface 39 is centered on the
motor-driven rotary axis 17 via a ballbearing unit 40 which is fitted to
the lower counterbore formation 19 of the body part 10; and a
roller-bearing unit 42, fitted to the upper mounting surface 38, provides
eccentric antifriction support for an annular member 43, to which valve
member A has further bolted connection 44.
The otherwise-open lower end of valve-body part 10 is closed by a seal or
gasket 45 and by a bottom-closure or cap member 26 which will be
understood to be retained in assembly to body part 10, by peripherally
spaced bolts (not shown). The thus-closed lower counterbore defines a
short cylindrical space 47 for rotatable containment of a circular plate
48 which has an angularly truncated lower surface 49, truncated at an
angle .alpha. to a radial plane about axis 17. Plate 48 is keyed and
bolted to the lower end of the two-land stem 38, 39 of flow tube 34 and is
of magnetic-flux conducting material, for variable-reluctance
angle-tracking coaction with magnetic tracking circuitry that is contained
within the closure-cap member 46.
For the angle-sensing purposes indicated, cap member 46 and the sealing
gasket 45 will be understood to be of non-magnetic material such as
aluminum or stainless steel, but a cylindrical bore 50 in cap member 46 is
open in the direction which faces an eccentrically offset locale of the
truncated lower surface 49 of plate 48. Bore 50 is fitted with a
ferromagnetic core 51, which is an E-configuration of revolution about its
central axis, namely, the axis of the bore 50 to which it is fitted; core
51, which may be a sintered consolidation of one or more magnetic-oxide
powders, thus is characterized by a central stem concentrically positioned
within an annular shell, by reason of a lower-end closure wall. Excitation
and sensing windings linked to the core stem enable electrical sensing of
the gap to plate 48, as a function of instantaneous angular position of
plate 48 and, therefore, of rotary actuation of shaft 26 about axis 17. To
this end, provision is made within cap 46 for accommodation of requisite
electrical-winding leads (e.g., at 52) to a standard multiple-pin
external-connector fitting 53. The described variable-reluctance device
will be understood to provide sensed angular-position data in the form of
electrical signals which are used to commutate motor windings as a
function of rotor-angle position, as will later become clear.
To complete the description of plate 48, an upwardly open arcuate groove 54
is formed in plate 48 to receive a stop pin at the lower end of a bolt 55
which is threaded to valve-body part 10. The arcuate extent of groove 54
will be understood to be in the order of 180 degrees about axis 17, for
determining limit stops for 180 degrees of shaft 26 rotation.
The electric motor shown to be contained within housing 27 is suitably a
brushless D.C. motor, the stator of which comprises windings 58 and a
stack 59 of laminations; electrical leads as at 60 to the windings are
supplied via a standard multiple-pin external-connection fitting 61. The
stator components are sealed inside the annular space defined by and
between housing member 27 and the flanged base member 21 and its skirt 22,
the sealed containment foreclosing stator components from exposure to
effluent-gas and ambient environments. The rotor 24, including shaft 17,
consists of a core 62, back-up iron 63 and permanent magnets 64, retained
by annular end pieces 65 which, with an outer cylindrical cladding or
shell 66, complete the sealed containment and protection of the magnets 64
from effluent-gas exposure. The thus-sealed stator and rotor assemblies
provide a so-called "wetted construction", allowing effluent to enter and
pressurize the rotor cavity of the motor. And since it is not necessary to
seal the motor drive shaft 26, no dynamic seals need be used at any of the
sites of rotary-bearing support.
For fail-safe purposes, a wound and tensed first clock spring 68 is secured
at its inner end to shaft 26, with outer-end anchorage by bolt 69 to the
flanged-base member 21. For a similar purpose, as well as to angularly
bias a lost-motion connection to be described, a second clock spring 70 is
secured at its inner end by bolt connection 71 to annular mount 43 for
valve member A, while the outer end of spring 70 is anchored by a bolt
connection 72 to body part 10. The direction of torsional bias by the
first spring 68 assures preload of shaft 26 in the angular direction of
its limit stop via bolt 55, corresponding to the closed position of valve
member A. Similarly, the direction of torsional bias by the second spring
70 assures preload of valve member A in the angular direction of a limit
stop (not shown in FIG. 1) corresponding to the closed position of valve
member A.
The latter limit-stop function will be better understood from a
description, in connection with FIGS. 2 to 4, for representative angular
positions and displacements of shaft 26 (and the flow tube 34 which it
mounts), in relation to concurrent angular positions and displacements of
valve member A, by reason of their spring-biased lost-motion connection.
It must initially be explained that, for purposes of simplified
identification of parts in FIG. 1, certain internal structural formations
of valve body 10 have been omitted, and that for similar reasons in the
diagrams of FIGS. 2 to 4, a simplified showing of internal valve-body (10)
features has been adopted and given the reference numeral 10' to avoid
confusion; thus in FIGS. 2 to 4, the numeral 10' is to be taken as
signifying a structurally fixed part of or attachment to the primary
valve-body part 10.
Referring now to FIGS. 2A and 2B, which show the closed condition of the
valve of FIG. 1, the valve member A is seen to be circumferentially
continuously engaged to seat B, with the central axis of flow tube 34
aligned with the axis 23 of inlet and outlet passages 11, 13. Dashed lines
73 identify one of two spaced yoke arms, defined by the bolted annular
members (36, 43) which thus form parts of valve member A and which
therefore support valve member A for angular displacement about the
eccentric axis 17'. As previously explained, axis 17' is eccentrically
offset from the motordriven shaft axis 17' to the extent .delta., and in
FIG. 2A it is indicated that, for the valve-closed condition shown, the
direction of eccentric offset places axis 17' in what may be termed the
4:30 o'clock position with respect to the motordriven shaft axis, for the
sense depicted in FIG. 2A. At all times, the directional preload torque of
spring 70 will be understood to be operative in the counterclockwise
direction of valve-member abutment with a stop 74 fixed to the valve body.
In the drawing of FIG. 2A, stop 74 is out of the plane of the section and
is therefore not cross-hatched; this is so that a driven clockwise
rotation of motor shaft 26 about axis 17 will permit an integrally formed
outward lug portion 75 of flow tube 34 to avoid interference with stop 74
and to engage a local inward lug formation 76 of valve member A. FIG. 3A
depicts this instant, following a first 90 degrees of shaft 26 (and flow
tube) rotation, during the course of which shaft 26 has angularly
displaced the eccentric axis 17' from the 4:30 o'clock direction of offset
.delta. (per FIG. 2A) to the 7:30 o'clock direction of offset .delta. (per
FIG. 3A), thus axially withdrawing valve member A a distance of about 1.4
times the value .delta. of the eccentric offset. Such withdrawal assures
purely axial relieving displacement of valve member A from its FIG. 1
position of seat engagement, leaving the clearance .delta.' which can be
seen in FIG. 3A; and this purely axial displacement is assured by reason
of spring (70) action, holding valve member A against stop 74.
The described initial 90.degree. of driven shaft rotation will be
recognized as the "lost" half of the lost-motion connection between shaft
26 and valve member A. Once the flow-tube lug 75 engages the lug 76 of
valve member A, the further driven rotation of shaft 26 effects
displacement of both the flow tube 34 and valve member A, to the limiting
position shown in FIG. 4A, wherein the valve is fully open, with flow tube
34 aligned on the flow axis of ports 11, 13. In this condition, the
eccentric axis 17 will have been displaced another 90.degree., resulting
in a 10:30 o'clock offset direction for axis 17' with respect to the drive
axis 17. And since valve member A was fully cleared from seat engagement
at the half-way point of shaft-26 rotation, the succeeding half of the
180.degree. course of shaft-26 rotation is free of torsional friction
attributable to seat B.
The cycle of valve-closing events will be seen to be as described for the
valve-opening sequence, except in reverse order. Specifically, starting
with the full-open condition of FIGS. 4A and 4B, return torque acting on
drive shaft 26, whether motor-driven in the reverse, counterclockwise
direction, or driven by the fail-safe counterclockwise action of spring
(68) bias, will account for the first 90.degree. of rotary return (FIG. 4A
to FIGS. 3A) while the counterclockwise spring (70) bias of valve member A
keeps the lugs 75, 76 in constant engagement. At the FIG. 3A or mid-point
position, however, valve member A encounters the fixed stop 74, thus
foreclosing further rotation of valve member A. Continued retracting
rotation of shaft 26 (flow tube 34), from the FIG. 3A relation to the FIG.
2A relation, is totally without action on valve member A, other than to
axially displace the eccentric axis 17' and therefore also the valve
member A. Finally, at the end of the 180.degree. displacement range of
shaft 26, valve member A achieves its circumferentially continuous
engagement to seat B, and the valve is fully closed again.
As noted above, the drive motor for shaft 26 is preferably a brushless D.C.
servo motor, brushless being indicated to avoid reliance upon mechanical
brushes sliding on a commutator; instead, multiple windings in the stator
are commutated by semiconductor power switches. Suitable brushless motors
of the character indicated are commercially available from a plurality of
sources, including Sierracin/Magnedyne, of Carlsbad, Calif., and Magnetic
Technology Division of Vernitron Corporation, Canoga Park, Calif., so that
extensive description is unnecessary for present purposes. Suffice it to
say that the motor in FIG. 1 preferably employs three winding phases, in a
12-pole configuration.
Specifically, and with reference to FIG. 5, for any valve-member command
position, the output of the position sensor 51 is used by an electronic
controller 80 to establish which two of three winding phases are energized
at any given rotor position, using a pulse-width modulating driver circuit
81. As shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 6, the windings
(.phi..sub.A, .phi..sub.B, .phi..sub.C) are energized by the controlled
"ON" or "OFF" status of three semi-conductor "totem-pole" drivers,
affording one polarity of particular winding excitation by way of
operating a selected one or more of semi-conductors A.sub.T, B.sub.T,
C.sub.T, and an opposite polarity of particular winding excitation by way
of operating a selected one or more of semi-conductors A.sub.B, B.sub.B,
C.sub.B. The two windings energized at any given time are selected in
sequence as a function of rotor position, as shown in the motor-drive
tabulation and diagram of FIG. 7, for the presently described 180.degree.
course of shaft 26 rotation.
Pulse-width modulation (PM) at 81 controls motor Dower in proportion to the
instantaneous error signal, noted at controller 80, thus providing
proportional control whereby speed of the motor is proportional to the
angular distance to a newly commanded valve position. As the valve
approaches the commanded position, the PM duty cycle is reduced, to lower
the motor current, and the motor progressively slows down as the motor
torque balances opposing return-spring torque and torques attributable to
fluid-flow forces.
A microprocessor system repetitively operates a control loop (see flow
chart of FIG. 8) in the same sequence, using an update rate many times
faster than the valve response. The rate of change of motor power with
error is called the gain factor. For fast response, the proportional gain
will be set fairly high, causing the motor to operate at 100% duty cycle
(full power) until it approaches the desired position. Power then reduces
rapidly and the valve comes to rest. The selected amount of gain involves
a balance: if the gain is too great, the valve will be unstable; if the
gain is too low, valve action will be sluggish. Gain value can be roughly
predicted, but it is desirably left variable and is fine tuned in testing.
Once the valve reaches the commanded position, it remains at rest, but the
control loop continuously updates, repetitively reading the commanded and
the feedback positions and adjusting the energizing PM duty cycle and/or
polarity to the motor windings, should a change be required.
It will be seen that the described ball-valve construction meets all stated
objects, most importantly by eliminating all sliding-seal action, and
there are no ambient vents, these being the two primary sources of
problems, such as leakage, sticking and freezing, in cryogenic valves.
Superior valve-position control results from the eccentric lifting of
valve member A from seat B before any rotation of valve member A to open
condition, thus avoiding any rub against seat B and enabling frictionless
operation; as a result, it is possible to provide precise and stable
electronic closed-loop positioning control of valve member A rotation,
over a very wide turn-down ratio. There are no contacting mechanical
switches, and motor brushes are not used. And, of particular importance in
the handling of cryogenic oxygen or hydrogen flows, all electronic devices
are positively isolated from the effluents of such gases.
It will be appreciated that in the description of FIG. 1, reference to
mechanical seals has been omitted, for purposes of simplified description.
Nevertheless, it is to be noted that elastomeric or plastic seals are
shown throughout in FIG. 1, for sealed completion of the fit between the
several described component parts of valve body structure, as well as the
motor-housing and positiontransducer housing components fixed to and
thereby integrated into the total body structure. Each sealing ring is
shown located in its retaining groove and in squeezed compression against
the surfaces thereby sealed.
The angular lost-motion connection and eccentric drive which have been
described for providing the valve lift-off feature of the invention will
be seen to be favored by reliance upon an eccentric offset .delta. which
is small compared to the spherical radius of valve member A. By keeping
this offset relation very small, one minimizes the extent to which the
valve is opened during the opening half (FIG. 2A to FIG. 3A) phase of the
opening cycle. For example, for a valve of FIG. 1 having a 1.20-in.
diameter valve-closing seat B, an eccentric offset .delta. of 0.02 inch
will suffice, particularly when one considers that, for the described
total eccentric displacement of what amounts to .pi. radians, wherein the
limits of eccentric-offset orientation are on what may be called the
4:30/10:30 axis of FIGS. 2A and the total opening displacement (FIG. 2A to
FIG. 3A) accounts for only a 0.1 square-inch area available for fluid
flow, involving an axial lift-off displacement of 0.03 inch; this is to be
compared with the vastly greater rate of valveopening area to achieve the
full 2.72 square-inch area, during the course of valve member A rotation
to full-open condition (FIG. 3A to FIG. 4A). The indicated 4:30/10:30 axis
of preferred eccentric-offset orientation for limits of .pi.-radian
rotation can be stated as a substantially .pi.-4-radian inclination of
geometric alignment, through the axis 17 of shaft 26 rotation and with
respect to the central axis 12 of fluid flow, wherein said inclination is
taken in the geometric plane which (a) includes the flow axis 12 and (b)
is normal to the shaft-rotation axis 17.
In describing valve member A as a relatively thin-shell truncation from a
geometric sphere, it is to be understood that this is a preferred form,
which has the merit of minimum weight and which minimizes inertial effects
that could otherwise reduce the time-constant of response to commands for
angular change of valve-member position. For example, the more solid ball
of a conventional ball valve can embody the "lift-off" concept of the
invention as long as an angular lost-motion relation is provided between
the ball and its drive shaft, with the ball mounted for its rotation about
an axis that is eccentrically offset to the extent .delta. from the
drive-shaft axis of rotation. FIG. 9 illustrates such a situation, wherein
a solid-ball valve member A' is in valve-closed position, closing off
fluid flow by reason of ball member A' having been eccentrically displaced
into continuous contact with seat B; ball member A' has a central bore
which is seen in FIG. 9 to be 90.degree. away from its alignment with the
axis of seat B, when in open condition.
Ball member A' is mounted for eccentric displacement by the same upper and
lower bearing supports, at 35 and 42, as already described, except that
the lower bearing 42' is shown as a ball bearing, for
gravitational-support purposes. The upper and lower eccentric throws
(.delta.) are coordinated by a side-arm connection 34', functionally
corresponding to the flow-tube connection 34 of FIG. 1. Torsional springs
68, 70 provide the previously described biasing torques, with the
valve-closed condition being held by spring 70 urging ball member A' to
its stop engagement with body stop 74'.
As described for FIGS. 2A, 2B to 4A, 4B, the first 90.degree. of
valve-opening events accomplishes the axial retraction of ball member A'
from seat B rotationally displacing arm 34', but without rotating the ball
member. Beyond this point, abutment features of arm 34' and ball member A'
engage to drive valve member A' 90.degree. into axial alignment of its
bore with the inlet and outlet passages 11, 13. Valve-closure events
follow the reverse sequential order, and are driven by the respective
spring actions at 68, 70.
FIG. 10 illustrates a modification of the valve construction of FIG. 1, in
that the eccentric displacement discussed in connection with FIG. 1 is, in
FIG. 10, limited to one side to the exclusion of the other side of the
central axis 12 of flow. Thus, in FIG. 10, the upper bearing 35 at which
eccentric displacement occurs is the single and only point of eccentric
displacement, and the lower bearing at 42 is devoid of eccentric
displacement. The net result is that driven eccentric displacement at the
upper bearing location, in the context of non-eccentric lower-bearing
rotation, is to cause the eccentrically driven axis 117' of valve-member A
to gyrate on a conical path. This conical path has its apex on the axis 17
of shaft-26 rotation; and since the upper and lower bearing locations are
at substantially equal offsets, respectively above and below the central
axis 12, an eccentric displacement 26 must be provided via the upper
bearing, in order to achieve the same eccentric displacement .delta. of
the geometric center of valve member as was the case for FIG. 1. In FIG.
10, the spliced member 132 via which eccentric displacement is imparted to
flow tube 34 and to valve member A is shown with exaggeration to have
bowed contour to accommodate varying aspects of the eccentricity, in the
course of .pi. radians of motor drive.
FIG. 11 schematically illustrates the principle involved in the one-side
only eccentricity arrangement of FIG. 10, except that in FIG. 11, the
eccentric throw .DELTA. has been greatly exaggerated for emphasis. In FIG.
11, selfaligning bearing means 135 is again the instrumentality by which
eccentrically driven displacement is imparted to the axis of rotation of
the valve member A', the magnitude (2.DELTA.) of eccentric throw being
apparent from the full-line showing (135) and the phantom-line showing
(135') of the upper bearing. And because the resulting gyration is
necessarily relatively great in FIG. 11, another self-aligning bearing is
shown at 142 for rotationally free mounting of the gyrated axis at the
apex of conical displacement.
As a practical matter however, for valves of the present character where
desired eccentric displacement of the geometric center of valve-member
displacement is small compared to the space between involved upper and
lower bearings, there may be sufficient angular "play" in commercial
radial ball-bearings to accommodate the angular offset between the shaft
axis (first rotary axis) and tile eccentrically gyrated second rotary
axis, namely, the axis of valve-member rotation, whereby it may not be
necessary to make special provision for self-aligning accommodation of the
eccentric gyration. In other words, if the eccentrically driven
upper-bearing throw 28 is small enough compared to the vertical distance
between the upper and lower bearings (135, 142), the apparatus shown in
FIG. 1 will serve the conical gyration mode as long as the lower bearing
provides the apex of conical gyration, on the axis of the motor-driven
shaft 26.
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